Frangible concrete-joint sealant package

ABSTRACT

A frangible package containing sealant for sealing joints between adjacent construction panels or slabs composed of such materials as concrete, masonry units and curtain wall, includes an elongated tube-like bar having a pair of continuous lines of weakness extending longitudinally along its entire length on opposite sides thereof to enable the bar to be broken apart longitudinally along the lines and thus to release the joint sealant disposed within the hollow interior of the bar, and a pair of end walls for sealing the sealant within the bar. The bar is adapted to be fastened to and extend along the top edge of an expansion joint filler strip, and a pair of external up-turned flanges extending from opposite sides of the bottom portion of the package anchor it to the adjacent slabs after they are positioned on opposite sides of the package and strip so that the top portion of the package may be pulled away readily from its bottom portion leaving it in place to help support the sealant. A bottom wall of the bar is bowed inwardly throughout its length to cause the sealant to assume a complementary shape so that its advantageous shape facilitates its expansion and contraction. When the top portion of the package is separated from its bottom portion, the sealant flows into sealing engagement with the adjacent side edges of the slabs to seal the joint therebetween. When used to seal concrete joints, the top wall of the bar has an external flat surface to serve as a screed when finishing the adjacent concrete surfaces.

United States Patent [1 1 OBrill l l 3,813,180 51 May28, 1974 FRANGIBLECONCRETE-JOINT SEALANT PACKAGE [76] Inventor: Robert OBrill, 5315 W.Madison,

Skokie, 111. 60076 [22] Filed: Nov. 16, 1972 21 Appl. No.1 307,037

52 U.S. Cl. ..404/48,52/396,404/65, 404/66 ["51] Int. Cl. B65d 83/00[58] Fieldof Search 52/98, 99, 173, 396; 206/46 R, 46 BK, 56 AA, 47 A;249/10; 404/48, 64, 69

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,062,077 5/1913 Burk 52/981,809,393 6/1931 Rockwell 52/99 1,881,438 10/1932 Fischer 52/396 X2,666,354 l/1954 Dim et a1. 206/56 AA 3,003,289 10/1961 Leibrook et al.206/46 BK 3,172,237 3/1965 Bradley 52/396 X 3,411,260 11/1968 Dill.52/396 X 12/1971 Klittich 52/396 Primary ExaminerWilliam 1. PriceAssistant ExaminerSteven E. Lipman Attorney, Agent, or Firm Bernard L.Kleinke [57] ABSTRACT A frangible package containing sealant for sealingjoints between adjacent construction panels or slabs composed of suchmaterials as concrete, masonry units and curtain wall, includes anelongated tube-like bar having a pair of continuous lines of weaknessextending longitudinally along its entire length on opposite sidesthereof to enablethe bar to be broken apart longitudinally along thelines and thus to release the joint sealant disposed within the hollowinterior of the bar, and a pair of end walls for sealing the sealantwithin the bar. The bar is adapted .to be fastened to and extend alongthe top edge of an expansion joint filler strip, and a pair of externalup-turned flanges extending from opposite sides of the bottom portion ofthe package anchor it to the adjacent slabs after they are positioned onopposite sides of the package and strip so that the top-portion of thepackage may be pulled away readily from its bottom portion leaving it inplace to help support the sealant. A bottom wall of the bar is bowedinwardly throughout its length to cause the sealant to assume acomplementary shape so that its advantageous shape facilitates itsexpansion and contraction. When the top portion of the package isseparated from its bottom portion, the sealant flows into sealingengagement with the adjacent side edges of the slabs to seal the jointtherebetween. When used to seal concrete joints, the topwall of the barhas an external flat surface to serve as a screed when finishing theadjacent concrete surfaces.

9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures FRANGIBLE CONCRETE-JOINT SEALANT PACKAGE Thepresent invention relates to a frangible joint sealant package, and itmoreparticularly relates to a frangible package containing a sealantadapted to seal a joint between'adjacent construction panels or slabs.

Sealants, such as elastomeric sealants, have been used to seal jointsbetween construction panels or slabs composed of materials, such asconcrete, masonry and curtain wall, to make the joint waterproof and toprovide protection therefor. For example, to seal joints betweenconcrete slabs, sealant has been applied by caulking guns in the jointbetween the adjacent concrete slabs over an expansion joint stripdisposed therein. Also, for some applications, in order to minimize thestresses developed at the bonding surfaces of the sealant, the sealanthas been caused to assume a concave shape at both its outer surface andits under surface. The concavity of the outside surface of the sealanthas been obtained by pushing the caulking gun nozzle inwardly whileapplying the sealant, and the inside surface of the sealant has beenmade concave by positioning between the sealant and the expansion jointstrip a compactible back-up strip, which is composed of polyethylenefoam or the like material, and which is semi-round in cross section.However, such sealing techniques have not been entirely satisfactory forsome applications in that the applying of the sealant has been undulytime consuming. In this regard, care must be exercised not to smear thesealant on adjacent surfaces of the concrete, and thus thetime-consuming and unwanted procedure of masking the adjacent surfaceshas been oftentimes required. Therefore, it would be highly desirable tobe able to seal joints without using a caulking process of applying thesealant to the joint, and also without the necessity of providingback-up material. Also, it would be highly desirable to have a sealantpackage, which could be used to insert the sealant in place within thejoint without the necessity of the timeconsuming procedure of masking ofadjacent concrete surfaces, and which has a portion of such a shape thatthe package itselffwould cause the sealant to assume an advantageousshape for expansion and contraction purposes.

Therefore, the principal object of the present invention is to provide anew and improved sealant package, which is frangible and'which isadapted to fit between adjacent construction panels.

Briefly, the above and further objects are realized in accordance withthe present invention by providing a frangible sealant package, whichincludes an elongated tube-like bar having to hollow interior extendingthroughout its length and having a pair of continuous lines weaknessextending longitudinally along its entire length on opposite sidesthereof to enable the bar to be broken apart longitudinally along thelines. The joint sealant is disposed within the hollow interior of thebar, and a pair of end walls are secured to the ends of the bar to sealthe sealant within the bar. By packaging the sealant in this manner, theproper amount of sealant is applied for each application. and the sealedpackage helps the joint remain free of dirt or other particles whichwould otherwiseinterfere with proper adhering of the sealant with theadjacent surfaces of the slabs, until the package is opened to releasethe sealant.

The invention, both as to its organization and method of operation,together with further objects and advantages thereof will best beunderstood by reference to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying sheet of drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a series of frangible concrete-jointsealant packages disposed within joints between adjacent concrete slabs,the packages being constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one of the packages ofFIG. 1 taken substantially along the line 2-2 thereof;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional fragmentary view inperspective of the package of FIG. 2, illustrating it without thesealant contained therein;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, partially broken away perspective end view ofthe package of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a reduced-scale perspective view of the end portion of thepackage of FIG. 2 showing the package being broken apart; and I FIG. 6is a reduced-scale view of the package of FIG. 2 during an assemblyoperation.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3thereof, there is shown a frangible sealant package 10 disposed in ajoint between adjacent concrete slabs 12 and 14 and constructed inaccordance with the present invention to enable concrete-joint sealantto be positioned therein without the need of applying the sealant with acaulking gun. A similar frangible sealant package 16 is disposed in ajoint between the concrete slab l2 and a concrete slab 18, and similarpackages 21 and 23 are disposed in the respective joints between theslab 18 and a slab 25 and between the slabs 14 and 25. Each one of thesealant packages of FIG. 1 are similar to one another, and thereforeonly the package 10 will be described in detail. The package 10generally includes an elongated tube-like bar 27, which has a hollowinterior extending throughout its length for confining therein aconcretejoint sealant 29 (FIG. 2), and which includes a pair ofparallel, spaced-apart depending flanges 32 and 34 to enable the bar 27to fit over and be secured to the upper edge of an expansion joint strip36, thebar 27 being secured thereto by any convenient technique, such asa series of nails, such as the nail 38. The bar 27 includes achannel-shaped cover portion 41 joined to a bottom portion 43 from whichextends the depending flanges 32 and 34, the cover portion 41 beingjoined to the bottom portion 43 at a pair of continuous lines 45 and 47of weakness extending longitudinally along the entire length of the bar27 as best seen in FIG. 3. A pair of end walls, such as the end wall 49shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, seal the sealant 29'within the interior of thebar 27. A finger ring 51 or-other suitable gripping device extendingexternally from the cover portion 41 as shown in the drawingsor, ifdesired, from the end wall 49, enables the finger of the user to gripthe cover portion 41 to rip or otherwise pull it away from the bottomportion 43 to enable the sealant 29 to flow to and engage the surfacesof the adjacent concrete slabs l2 and 14 for sealing purposes. In orderto insure that the bottom portion 43 is securely anchored during theopening of the package 10, the bar 27 is fastened as previouslymentioned to the expansion joint strip 36, and also a pair of angularlydisposed up-standing flanges 53 and 55 extend from the bottom portion 43and extend longitudinally along the entire length of the bar 27 toanchor the bottom portion 43 in the adjacent concrete slabs 12 and 14,respectively.

Considering now the packages 10 in greater detail with reference toFIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings, the cover portion 41 includes aflat upper wall 60 and a pair of depending side walls or flanges 62 and64. The exterior flat surface of the top wall 60 serves as a screed whenthe concrete slabs 12 and 14 are being finished. The bottom edges of theside walls 62 and 64 are joined to the bottom portion 43 at therespective lines 45 and 47. The bottom portion 43 includes a bottom wall66, which is inwardly bowed or concave in cross section, and whichtogether with the channel-shaped cover portion 41 defines an interiorcompartment 68 for confining the sealant 29. The bottom portion 43further includes the depending flanges 32 and 34 which are aligned withthe side walls 62 and 64, respectively, of the cover portion 41, theup-turned external flanges 53 and 55 extending from the bottom portion43 at the upper portion of the respective flanges 32 and 34 immediatelybelow the continuous lines 45 and 47 of the weakened areas. The bottomwall 66 is inwardly bowed to provide a smoothly curved inwardly concavesurface to support the sealant in such a manner that it assumes acomplementary inwardly bowed or concave shape in cross section at itsunder side so that the sealant assumes a shape which facilitatescontraction and expansion thereof when the adjacent slabs 12 and 14 movetoward and away from one another due to ambient temperature changes. Forsealing horizontal surfaces, the sealant 29 is preferably a flowable oneso that when the cover 41 is removed, it can flow into contact with theadjacent surfaces of the slabs 12 and 14 to provide a tight sealtherewith. Also, it should be understood that when the cover 41 isremoved, the upper surface of the sealant 29 becomes slightly depresseddue to the displacement of the cover 41 as the side walls 62 and 64 ofthe cover 41 are pulled from between the slabs l2 and 14. Thus, thepackage facilitates proper shaping of the sealant 29. For sealinghorizontal surfaces, the sealant 29 is preferably a one-partselfleveling sealant, either air-cured or moisture-cured, such as thesealant known as Vulkem 45, manufactured by Mameco lnternational ofCleveland, Ohio. For sealing vertically disposed surfaces, a sealant 29is preferably a one-part non-sag sealant, such as the sealant known asVulkem 230 also manufactured by Memeco lnternational.

The interior compartment 68 is coated with a suitable sealant-releaseagant (not shown) such as wax, to permit the cover portion 41 to beseparated freely from the bottom portion 43 and the sealant 29 and alsoto permit the sealant 29 to lift up from the bottom wall duringelongation of the sealant cross section when the slabs l2 and 14 moveapart in use.

The end covers, such as the cover 49, are heat sealed in place alongthree of its marginal edges to the edge of the top wall 60 and the endedges of the depending flanges 62 and 64. The edge of the cover oppositethe top-wall engaging edge thereof conforms to the bowed shape of thebottom wall 66 and is not fixed thereto. However, it is preferred toapply tape to the cover to secure it to the bottom wall 66 to providesupport before the package 10 is used. If the tape is used, it isremoved at the time of installation of the package 10.

Referring now to FIG. 6, in order to install the package 10 of thepresent invention, and to seal the joint between the slab 12 and theslab 14, the package 10 is first slipped over the top edge of theexpansion joint strip 36, and then the package 10 and the strip 36 areplaced in position. Thereafter, a series of stakes, such as the stake 72are driven into the ground adjacent to the package 10 and the strip 36until the top edge of the stakes are level with the top wall 60 (FIG. 4)of the package 10, the upstanding flange being bent upwardly and pressedbetween the stake 72 and the cover 41. Nails, such as the nail 38, arethen driven through the stakes, the depending flanges 32 and 34 and thestrip 36. The slab of concrete 12 is then poured and fin ished using thetop wall as a screed, and after so doing, the stakes are removed, butthe nails remain in place since the nails are finishing nails with smallheads so that the stakes can be backed therefrom, whereby the nailsremain in place to secure the package 10 to the strip 36. The flange 55then snaps back into its original position, and the slab 14 is thenpoured. Both of the slabs 12 and 14 are finished using the top wall 60of the package 10 as a screed. After both slabs 12 and 14 are poured andfinished, the ring 51 is grasped, and the cover portion 41 is pulledupwardly to separate the cover portion 41 from the bottom portion 43along the lines 45 and 47, the cover portion 41 then being discarded.When the cover portion 41 is removed, the sealant 29 flows into contactwith the adjacent surfaces of the slabs 12 and 14 within the jointtherebetween to form a water-tight, protective seal.

The package 10 is composed of suitable plastic material, such aspolystyrene, or other thin wall material, and the cover portion 41 andthe bottom portion 43 are formed as a unit by an extrusion process. Thelines of weakness are formed during the extrusion process by forming apair of oppositely-disposed, V-shaped grooves on each one of the sidewalls 62 and 64; however, it should be understood that only one groovemay be provided in each side wall if desired, to form the lines ofweakness.

While the present invention has been described in connection with aparticular embodiment thereof, it will be understood that many changesand modifications of this invention may be made by those skilled in theart without departing from the true spirit and scope thereof.Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all such changesand modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A frangible sealant package for joints between adjacent panels,comprises:

an elongated tube-like bar having a hollow interior extending throughoutits length and having a pair of continuous lines of weakened areasextending longitudinally along its entire length on opposite sidesthereof to enable said bar to be broken apart longitudinally along saidlines;

a concrete-joint sealant disposed within said hollow interior of saidbar;

a pair of end walls sealing said sealant within said bar, and said barfurther including a pair of parallel spaced-apart downwardly dependingexternal flanges extending longitudinally throughout the length of saidbar to an expansion joint strip therebetween.

2. A frangible sealant package according to claim 1, wherein said panelsare concrete slabs and said cover portion has an external flat surfaceto serve as a screed.

3. A frangible sealant package according to claim 1, wherein said barincludes a pair of up-turned external anchoring flanges extendinglongitudinally throughout the entire length of said bar.

4. A frangible sealant package according to claim 1, wherein said barincludes a channel-shaped cover portion and a bottom wall portion joinedto said cover portion at said lines of weakened areas.

5. A frangible sealant package according to claim 4, wherein thecross-sectional shape of said bottom wall is configured to be concaveinwardly to cause the crosssectional configuration of the undersideportion of said sealant to assume a complementary concave shape.

6. A frangible sealant package according to claim 5 wherein saidinterior of said bar is coated with a sealant release agent.

7. A frangible sealant package according to claim 6, wherein said barstill further includes a pair of upturned external anchoring flangesextending longitudinally throughout the entire length of said bar.

8. A frangible sealant package according to claim 7, wherein saidweakened areas are die-cut lines.

9. A frangible sealant package according to claim 8, wherein said bar iscomposed of extruded plastic materlaL

1. A frangible sealant package for joints between adjacent panels,comprises: an elongated tube-like bar having a hollow interior extendingthroughout its length and having a pair of continuous lines of weakenedareas extending longitudinally along its entire length on opposite sidesthereof to enable said bar to be broken apart longitudinally along saidlines; a concrete-joint sealant disposed within said hollow interior ofsaid bar; a pair of end walls sealing said sealant within said bar, andsaid bar further including a pair of parallel spaced-apart downwardlydepending external flanges extending longitudinally throughout thelength of said bar to an expansion joint strip therebetween.
 2. Afrangible sealant package according to claim 1, wherein said panels areconcrete slabs and sAid cover portion has an external flat surface toserve as a screed.
 3. A frangible sealant package according to claim 1,wherein said bar includes a pair of up-turned external anchoring flangesextending longitudinally throughout the entire length of said bar.
 4. Afrangible sealant package according to claim 1, wherein said barincludes a channel-shaped cover portion and a bottom wall portion joinedto said cover portion at said lines of weakened areas.
 5. A frangiblesealant package according to claim 4, wherein the cross-sectional shapeof said bottom wall is configured to be concave inwardly to cause thecross-sectional configuration of the underside portion of said sealantto assume a complementary concave shape.
 6. A frangible sealant packageaccording to claim 5 wherein said interior of said bar is coated with asealant release agent.
 7. A frangible sealant package according to claim6, wherein said bar still further includes a pair of up-turned externalanchoring flanges extending longitudinally throughout the entire lengthof said bar.
 8. A frangible sealant package according to claim 7,wherein said weakened areas are die-cut lines.
 9. A frangible sealantpackage according to claim 8, wherein said bar is composed of extrudedplastic material.